Kashmiri Pandit Employees Protest Enters 10th Day

Jammu: Protest by government employees from the Kashmiri Pandit community who have refused to return and join their jobs in the Valley after the alleged stone pelting on their transit camp, on Saturday entered the tenth day.

They raised slogans against the state and the central governments, accusing them of “forsaking” the Pandit community. Demanding evacuation of those employees who have been struck in the Valley, the employees continued their ‘dharna’ at the Relief Commissioners Office (RCO).

“Lot is being said about us on television debates, but we have become a forsaken lot, nobody came to our rescue when our transit camps were attacked by the stone pelting mob who were protesting against the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani”, Manoj Koul, a protester said.

He alleged the stone pelting mob forced them to raise “pro-Pakistan” slogans and when they refused to do that their camps were attacked. Majority of the protesting Kashmiri Pandits were given jobs under the Prime Ministers Rehabilitation Package for the Kashmiri Migrants.

“It is the tenth day of the protest.The state and central governments are unmoved; the Kashmiri Pandits are a forsaken lot. Nobody cares for us,” Parmod Bhat another employees said.

“We were not given time to meet the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh as the state government has been keeping the central government in the dark over the condition of Kashmiri Pandit employees”, Bhushan Kumar another employee said.

The All Party Migrants Coordination Committee (APMCC) said over 700 Kashmir based employees from the community have fled to Jammu following the unrest that started in Kashmir after the killing of Burhan Wani during an encounter with security forces on July 8.

“After several transit camps were attacked, they have been vacated by the KP employees, who escaped to Jammu to save themselves from the wrath of stone pelting mob…They have refused to return to the Valley”, APMCC National